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Drama on day oneĀ in Chennai
By HOWARD HARDING – Squash Mad International Correspondent
New Zealand produced the only upset on day one of Pool action in the WSF Men’s World Junior Team Squash Championship in Chennai as hosts India became one of only three teams to ensure their place in the knockout stage.
India were taken the full distance in a dramatic tie at the end of the day before finally overcoming Switzerland 2-1.
Tenth seeds New Zealand upset the form book in Pool G, defeating Colombia 2-1 after the No.7 seeds beat Qatar 3-0 in the first tie of the day.
Favourites Egypt – boasting a powerful squad featuring the four semi-finalists in the world individual championship – cruised into the Last 16 knockout round following straightforward 3-0 wins over Singapore and Australia.
Third seeds England also won both their ties – but in the opening battle against South Africa dropped the first match before bouncing back to win 2-1.
Second seeds Canada – expected to record their highest ever finish in the 38-year history of the championship – justified their status with a 3-0 win over Scotland (both teams pictured above), and face Argentina in Wednesday’s second qualifying tie.
But the main interest on the opening day at the Indian Squash Academy was India’s second tie against Switzerland, the 12th seeds. In the morning session, the fifth-seeded hosts beat Saudi Arabia – the nation proudly making its first ever appearance in a world team squash championship.
Utkarsh Baheti put India ahead in the opening match against the Swiss, beating Campbell Wells 11-6, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9 – but the underdogs battled back top draw level when Nils Roesch beat Veer Chotrani.
The crowd were on the edge of their seats as Yash Fadte went down 2/1 in the decider – but the Indian number one regrouped to draw level, then took the fifth game against Yannick Wilhelmi (both pictured above) to win the match 11-8, 7-11, 5-11, 11-4, 11-9 in 68 minutes.
“That was so tense,” said the Indian team later. “In the end it came down to Yash’s fitness and determination, and the crowd probably helped too!”
Follow the live action via the official website www.wsfworldjuniors.com
WSF World Junior Team Squash Championship, Chennai, India.
1st qualifying rounds – Pool A:
[1] EGYPT bt [20] SINGAPORE 3/0
Mostafa El Serty bt Leonard Lee 11-1, 11-0, 11-4 (18m)
Omar El Torkey bt Kieren Tan 11-0, 11-4, 11-5 (31m)
Mostafa Asal bt Aaron Liang 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 (22m)
[1] EGYPT bt [16] AUSTRALIA 3/0
Mostafa El Serty bt Maaz Khatri 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 (30m)
Omar El Torkey bt Jacob Ford 11-3, 11-6, 11-2 (32m)
Mostafa Asal bt Nicholas Calvert 11-7, 11-7, 11-4 (30m)
Pool B:
[2] CANADA bt [17] SCOTLAND 3/0
Ryan Picken bt John Meehan 11-5, 12-10, 11-9 (30m)
George Crowne bt Fraser McCann 11-6, 6-11, 11-2, 11-3 (29m)
Julien Gosset bt Christopher Murphy 11-5, 11-5, 11-9 (28m)
Pool C:
[3] ENGLAND bt [19] SOUTH AFRICA 2/1
Jared Carter lost to Tristen Worth 10-12, 6-11, 9-11 (40m)
James Wyatt bt Murray Schepers 11-6, 11-7, 12-10 (43m)
Nick Wall bt Mikael Ismail 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 (45m)
[3] ENGLAND bt [14] IRELAND 3/0
Sam Todd bt Scott Gillanders 11-4, 8-11, 11-3, 11-8 (41m)
James Wyatt bt Sam Buckley 5-11, 11-7, 11-6, 6-11, 11-5 (57m)
Nick Wall bt Conor Moran 11-3, 11-3, 11-9 (24m)
Pool D:
[4] MALAYSIA bt [18] GERMANY 3/0
Shahrul Izham Nurhaqiem bt Simon Tietz 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 (30m)
Siow Yee Xian bt Maximillian Baum 15-13, 11-5, 11-2 (33m)
Darren Rahul Pragasam bt Abdel-Rahman Ghait 11-8, 13-11, 11-7 (39m)
Pool E:
[5] INDIA bt [23] SAUDI ARABIA 3/0
Rahul Baitha bt Abdulelah Boureggah 11-1, 11-4, 11-2 (17m)
Utkarsh Baheti bt Abdulmajeed Boureggah 11-2, 11-7, 11-5 (21m)
Veer Chotrani bt Mohammad Almwled 12-10, 11-4, 11-8 (29m)
[5] INDIA bt [12] SWITZERLAND 2/1
Utkarsh Baheti bt Campbell Wells 11-6, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9 (38m)
Veer Chotrani lost to Nils Roesch 11-9, 5-11, 3-11, 7-11 (41m)
Yash Fadte bt Yannick Wilhelmi 11-8, 7-11, 5-11, 11-4, 11-9 (68m)
Pool F:
[6] CZECH REPUBLIC bt [24] ZIMBABWE 3/0
Marek Panacek bt Harry Lawton 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 (29m)
Ondrej Vorlicek bt Ethan Alfalfa Porter 11-5, 11-6, 11-2 (28m)
Viktor Byrtus bt Tayne Turnock 11-6, 11-3, 11-4 (24m)
Pool G:
[7] COLOMBIA bt [22] QATAR 3/0
Nicolas Serna bt Ahmad Al-Muraikhi 11-6, 11-2, 11-3 (20m)
Andres Villamizar bt Ibrahim Darwish 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 (20m)
Matias Knudsen bt Hamad Al-Amri 12-10, 11-5, 11-7 (22m)
[10] NEW ZEALAND bt [7] COLOMBIA 2/1
Temwa Chileshe bt Andres Villamizar 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9 (64m)
Gabe Yam bt Luis Alejandro Mancilla 11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5 (48m)
Matthew Lucente lost to Matias Knudsen 9-11, 9-11, 5-11 (27m)
Pool H:
[8] USA bt [21] FINLAND 3/0
Ayush Menon bt Atte StengƄrd 11-2, 11-3, 11-2 (21m)
Tiber Worth bt Elias Korhonen 11-4, 11-6, 11-3 (25m)
Daelum Mawji bt Samuli Niskala 11-5, 11-2, 11-4 (20m)Ā
Images courtesy of #wsfworldjuniors